Where do
YOU get your news about what's going on in the world? Before television,
radio and the internet brought us up-to-the-minute news and
entertainment reports, our world relied on newspapers to help spread the
word and keep people informed about what was going on in their
community.
People enjoy reading newspapers for the same reasons
they did across time. News articles are concise and to the point, as
well as current and relevant to the people who subscribe.
You can
tell a lot about a community by examining it's newspaper; that's why it
is the perfect vehicle in our quest to learn more about life in Colonial
America.
Our entire
class has been sent back in time to 1775 to help create The Colonial
Crier, a 18th century newspaper covering the news and lifestyles of
New England, Middle and Southern colonies of the New World. Through thoughtful
articles and eye-catching artwork you will create, your readers will learn
all about the events ,issues, influential people and culture of a unique
time in our country's history. This newspaper will be distributed to all
the 5th and 8th grade classes in the district. Plan on being creative
and having fun with the information you find on colonial life - our newspaper
needs to make daily colonial life come alive!
The newspaper is a
collaborative class project. Each person is responsible for researching,
writing and submitting a proofread article, advertisement or artwork
to The Colonial Crier.
In order
for your newspaper to be realistic-looking and historically accurate,
you will need to focus on 2 different areas.
•To make it
historically correct, you will need to become an expert on your subject
matter. (content)
•To make it
realistic-looking, you will need to learn more about newspaper design
and basic journalism tools. (process)
Step 1 - Becoming an
Expert in your Subject Matter
1. Our
class will be divided up into 3 subject matter groups, called
Regional Teams.
These 3 teams
each reflect a different region of the 13 original colonies.
•New
England Colonies
•Middle
Colonies
•Southern
Colonies
2. Using your
textbook, encyclopedias, library books, and the internet, your
group will meet each day for two weeks researching and finding answers
to the following questions:
•What
was life like for your colonists back in 1775 •What news would have
made the front page? •What topics might have sparked
debate? •Who were the important leaders or people in the
news? •What was the latest fashion, literary choice or
pastime? •What were common businesses back then? •What goods or
services might have been provided?
3. To stay organized
and find patterns in your research, you will use Inspiration and/or
other graphic organizers your teacher will provide.
"EVERYBODY"
LINKS*
13
colonies - Historical information and useful links about each
of the 13 original colonies.
You are not limited to these links. What others
can you
recommend?
*You will explore Webpages
from people all over the world who care about colonial history. Because
these are real Webpages we're tapping into, not things made just for
schools, the reading level might challenge you. Use your in-class
dictionary and your teammates for help. Alse be sure to check out the
links each of these sites recommend. You'll find them equally
useful!
Step 2 - Converting
Research into Newspaper Submissions
1. Each
editorial section of the newspaper requires a unique form, style and
tools of journalism. After a class lesson on Parts of a Newspaper, your
Regional Team will meet and assign a newspaper editor role to each
person. Each role has it's own writing team.
• 2 News Editors
(reports on
late-breaking news of events and interviews)
• 2 Opinion
Editors (voices
opinions about controversial topics)
• 2 Features
Editors (shares
useful information about home & entertainment)
• 2 Art &
Advertising Editors (designs business ads, political cartoons,
photos)
You are now a member
of both teams, Regional and Editorial. In the Editorial Team, you will learn and support each other
as a writing group.
2. Each Editorial
Team will be provided in-class lessons and activities specific to their
roles. Carefully review these links to give you a background as to what
a journalist does.
3. Regional Team
Activity:
Together, begin thinking about which topics or stories in colonial
history could be best told by news, opinion or feature articles.
Write a one paragraph proposal to your
teacher summarizing what you will be writing and what resources you will
be using.
4. Editorial Team Activity:Look at many local newspapers as
models. Specifically look at the section of the paper that matches your
assigned editorial page of The Colonial Gazette. Examine the layout,
content, and design of the page. How is it written? What design or page
layout aspects do you like? What will you try to replicate?
In the very first paragraph,
news reporters tell their readers much of the who? what? where?
when? why?and how? of a recent event. Paragraphs are often to the
point, brief and state facts. Following the first paragraph,
reporters provide further details such as quoting an eyewitnesses
or background information.
Focus
Question
What important events did or could
have occurred that would have made front page
news?
Opinion
Editors share their opinions about controversial topics. The
newspaper staff hopes these opinions will inspire readers to
in-turn share their opinions by writing back to the newspaper.
Opinions are also shared through art, called political
cartoons.
Focus
Question
What were some
issues back in 1775 that sparked debate between colonists? What
arguments could each side
make?
A Matter of
Opinion
- A how-to
guide for writing editorials and political cartoons.
Features Editor
Features
Editors don't report on late-breaking news. Rather, it is their
job to find and write about interesting topics that help people
live better lives. Articles about health, travel, cooking,
fashion, recreation, education, literature and people are often
'featured.'
Focus Question
What was
daily life like in colonial America? What could you use from your
research to write an article about health, homemaking,
entertainment or education?
18th Century
Clothing
-
Fashion alert! What
did people wear back in the 1700's? Find out what the colonists
found fashionable at this site!
Colonial
Living
-
History Detectives!
Learn about the Springers, a real colonial family, by examining
their artifacts and answering clues.
Advertising
& Art
Editor
Advertising Editors
have an important role in newspaper development. Ads in newspapers
help pay the cost of producing each issue. Editors help local
businesses design ads that will catch the attention of potential
customers. The information and artwork in an ad must be both
accurate and attractive.
Search for ads and
politcal cartoons in several local newspapers. Look at design
layout, font and illustration. Discuss with other Ad Editors what
makes a good ad.
Focus
Question
What
kinds of goods or service-type businesses existed in colonial
times ? How would they want their ad designed?
Ad
Managers
- This link
describes what ad managers do in real life.
Step 3 - Writing
Process
Remember, you went
back in history! Therefore, you need to write your articles as if you were
reporting them back in 1775. Watch your tense and tone.
Use of Imagination
- You may include fictious (not real) people and businesses in your
articles for quotes or in reference. Stay true to the locations and the
ways colonial people lived back then. You are welcome to discuss ideas or
concerns about made up things in your story with your teacher.
As in all projects in
this class, we will go through all the steps of the writing
process.
1.
Brainstorm and Free write 2. Draft 3. Review on your own and with
peers 4. Revise 5. Edit & Rewrite 6. Repeat Steps
3&4 7. Final Draft on the computer. Save
file.
*Ads and artwork will
go through a similiar revision process. Original artwork will be
scanned.
Step 4 - Design
& Layout
Working with the teachers,
you will individually and in editorial teams assist in formatting your
work to create a newspage. When it is done, we will photocopy an issue.
Through The Colonial
Crier, you not only learned more about American History, but you also
learned about journalism and newspapers. I hope you enjoy reading all
your classmates' articles and ads! By fusing fact with fiction, we've
created a fun way to learn. Thanks to our class project, now other students
learning about colonial America have a new resource.